Some of the best Star Trek movie news to come out in February was announcement that sci-fi legend Alan Dean Foster would be adapting the Orci and Kurtzman script into a Novel. TrekMovie was the first with that news and today we have the exclusive first look at the front and back covers of the book, including the ‘blurb’ which gives a pretty good (spoilery) outline of the movie.

Star Trek – The Novel by Alan Dean Foster
Here is the front cover, which reflects some of the new promotional material showing up in theaters.

Back cover blurb outlines plot for Star Trek
We also have the back cover, which has the following plot summary for the novel (and the movie) outlining the origin story for Kirk and Spock and the crisis they will face with Nero and his Narada coming from the future:

One grew up in the cornfields of Iowa, fighting for his independence, for a way out of a life that promised only indifference, aimlessness, and obscurity

The other grew up on the jagged cliffs of the harsh Vulcan desert, fighting for acceptance, for a way to reconcile the logic he was taught with the emotions he felt.

In the far reaches of the galaxy, a machine of war bursts into existence in a place and time it was never meant to be. On a mission of retribution of the destruction of his planet, its half-mad captain seeks the death of every intelligent being, and the annihilation of every civilized world.

Kirk and Spock, two completely different and unyielding personalities, must find a way to lead the only crew, aboard the only ship, that can stop him.

Decoding the blurbRunning that blurb through TrekMovie’s magic decoder ring, we come up with this:

Star Trek is a coming of age story for James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock who each deal with childhood struggles before coming together on the USS Enterprise, as very different people. They start at odds, but find a way to work together, along with the rest of the classic Trek crew, towards that friendship and family that has become legend.

They do this when faced with the crisis of Nero, a hell-bent for revenge Romulan from the future who is wreaking havoc across the Federation with his giant monster-like ship, the Narada. It seems that he has taken the destruction of his home planet Romulus personally, and is particularly pissed off at a certain pointy eared half-Vulcan whom he was working with in the 24th century before he came back in time and started cutting a swath across the galaxy.

Read the movie May 12th + message from author
The trade paperback (measuring 5 5/16″ x 8 1/4″) has an official release date of May 12th and can be preordered at Amazon (currently discounted to $10.20). There will be audio and e-book versions, also available on May 12th. As noted in our last article on this, the novel is 192 pages long. Some fans wondered if that was short, and so Alan Dean Foster has weighed in, with a comment at TrekMovie saying:

The [Star Trek] novel manuscript came in at about 79,000 words. Not War & Peace, not Stephen King, but far, far from a novella.

When comparing number of pages in a book, remember also that font size enters into the number of words per page.

And don’t forget about the prequel comic
And if you want to get the full Star Trek experience, then you will also want to pick up the comic book prequel series, "Star Trek Countdown." The series is halfway through with the final (of four) issues coming out the last week of April. This will conincide with the release of a trade paperback compiling all four issues. If you haven’t been reading the comics so far, this TPB is your best bet as the first two comics are already sold out.

Oh yeah, and good bye Romulus. If anyone has noticed yet, this is actually the missing ingredient here. You see, the prime timeline is the one with the discrepancy, not the new one, because the only chance Romulus has of surviving is in an alternate reality and not in the prime timeline.

That certainly answers a few questions about Nero! The cover of the novel looks awesome and I am definitely going to get it! I’ve already pre-ordered the Countdown Paperback so I’m looking forward to doing some reading very soon!

The Star Trek font for the logo is fine, and I like how they executed the crews faces into it, but I wish they didn’t use it all the time. I liked the fortis caps font and hope they would use that for the subtext.

Ah, good speculation there. So, Laquisha Nero was killed with Romulus so Nero does a Silver Surfer type of deal where he offers the space octopus some other worlds to eat if it will go back in time and undo the eating of Romulus?

Oh I think he does…but the focus is on the young crew. I think this shows confidence that they feel the movie/story is solid enough to not (how to say this eloquently) have to fall back onto Nimoy’s enormity in order to get buy in.

As a big Romulan fan, I especially don’t like the sound of Romulus being destroyed. With that said, the Romulan Star Empire is made up of many, many planets. So, has it been confirmed that Romulus itself is Nero’s homeworld or is he simply from a Romulan planet? Also, if Romulus is destroyed, did the Romulan Star Empire collapse or did a new planet become the capital of the Romulan Empire?

27. Admiral_BlackCat – March 4, 2009
So no Nimoy Spock on the cover and not even a mention of him in the ‘blurb’ from the back??
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“Spock” is mentioned, and since that is who Nimoy plays, I don’t see your point. No, he’s not on the front cover because that shows the main cast. Since Spock is already there, there’s no reason to show “older” Spock. He and Quinto play ONE character, so that character appears only ONCE. Simple. Not a slam against Nimoy. Not an issue in any way.

*****
26. Jefferies Tuber – March 4, 2009
Note that JJ’s credit is the same, largest font size as Gene’s. I’m sure it was just his agent’s doing, but that’s, uh, confidence. Or hubris.
*******
Which credit are you talking about? Abrams doesn’t even have a credit on the cover, and his credit is the same as everyone else’s on the back cover. So…what are you talking about? Some other credit somewhere?

Geesh, people! Stop creating problems that DO NOT EXIST.

I’ll wait until I see the movie, but I’m eager to read a Trek novelization for the first time since “The Voyage Home.” Foster is a capable, talented writer with a style that I’ve always enjoyed, so this should be a better than average novel.

#29
I’m hoping the answer is provided in the novel. I think there will be so much going on on-screen that they might vaguely touch on that point in the movie, but let’s hope it’s expanded upon in the novel.

“In the far reaches of the galaxy, a machine of war bursts into existence in a place and time it was never meant to be. On a mission of retribution of the destruction of his planet, its half-mad captain seeks the death of every intelligent being, and the annihilation of every civilized world.”

I can’t help it but this part of the summary totally reminds me of the Doomsday Machine….

So Earth gets Attacted in the movie and romulas gets destroyed. The past changes and Prime Spock has to go back and try and correct things. So much going on. Could it also be that the doomsday machine makes an apperence or is it just the narada doing it. But what caused the destrustion of the romulan sun. Was it the another doomsday machine that came into being. So much going on. Can’t wait for all the answers.

52. Good Point. Maybe they went back in time and some how incorerated the Doomsday machine and changed it a bit and well with that kinda power they could destroy planets at a whim. Earth being included.

Romulus? Away? Hell… THAT is creepy… but sure it makes things understandable… Romulus exploded, his family got killed, he went mad and searched for One event or person that will hopefully prevent the destruction go back in time and try to delete the Destruction of Romulus from time…

Tripple Post… but the Question is: IS Romulus Neros Homeplanet? Or is it just another Planet within the Romulan Empire? It is not clear but sure gets cleared up in the comics and the Movie (hope I can get the Comics in April)

I like that logo more than the new metallic one, I hope it stays a bit longer prior the movie release.

this story gets more interesting by the minute.

I’m doubting this movie is going to be a another Nemisis which is a GOOD THING, the story seems better than any recent Star Trek movie. I HIGHLY DOUBT this one will be disappointing, judging by what I’ve seen so far.

@28 – KILL EVERYTHING! *ahem* Sorry. Channeling Nero there for a minute. Anyway, that’s what the blurb on the back cover says.

@52 – The Doomsday Machine was a non-sentient weapon that was programmed to destroy planets and use the debris for fuel. (That is, if you leave the TNG novels dealing with TDM out of it.)

And AP, a bit of a *SPOILER ALERT* might have been a good thing – UNLESS everyone is speculating that Nero is, in fact, from Romulus. It’s entirely possible he’s from another Romulan planet. Like when someone from the US – say Minnesota – travels abroad and they say they’re an American, but if Minneapolis is destroyed by a freak sandstorm that doesn’t necessarily mean America is destroyed – so the same could be true of Nero. The Romulus-being-destroyed thing may be a red herring.

72. Funny!!!1 i give you one week free of the agoniser booth. But keep it funny or i will resend that. Ok. The story is looking fantastic and I just can’t wait for May the 8th. Im so geeking out here for Trek.

72. Funny!!!1 i give you one week free of the agoniser booth. But keep it funny or i will resend that. Ok. The story is looking fantastic and I just can’t wait for May the 8th. Im so geeking out here for Trek.

#68
“The Doomsday Machine was a non-sentient weapon that was programmed to destroy planets and use the debris for fuel.”

Yes, you’re right and it was probably built by an alien race that’s already gone. Anyway, all of this doesn’t exclude that the Narada could be the Doomsday Machine. It could be automated, cause we’re talking 24th century technology here and when it was upgraded more and when the crew is dead or gone it still could have continued its mission.

Now, all what I do here is speculating for fun… I just find it quite intriguing that the summary of the novel says: “In the far reaches of the galaxy, a machine of war bursts into existence in a place and time it was never meant to be.”

That sentence right there could point at the Doomsday Machine, but like I said… all what I do here is speculating for fun. I don’t know anything and I don’t imply that this is what’s going to happen in the movie. It just made me curious… and I thought I share my thoughts with you guys. ;)

One of things that annoyed me with Nemesis was the cliche of the Khan like villian. You know the baddie that has to be destroyed at the end because he or she wants the death of everything that’s good in the galaxy. You know the crappy formula that has been done over and over again since The Wrath of Khan came out. It’s got old and imo that is what killed Star Trek!

So the destruction of Romulus made Nero so insane that he blames Vulcan and Earth and thus, went back in time to destroy those planets, in the hopes of saving Romulus in the past, which then could affect the timeline of the supposed present. And the elder Spock went back in time to stop Nero from doing this.

This plot is like a rip off from star wars and the episode “The City At the Edge of Forever.” . Nero’s ship is like the death star. The only difference is that he went back in time. Why would Nero go back in time unless he wanted to save Romulus? He is just going back in time to altar his future.

It seems just a very short time ago that it was announced that Alan Dean Foster was assigned to write this tome. I am very hopeful that he’ll again knock this out of the park, yet I wonder if he would have to be cutting and pasting his way through the original screenplay to get this thing cranked out or maybe he had more time than was announced.

btw, it’s nice to see such positive reaction around here. (with the exception of Dan, but hey, you can’t please everyone).

Interesting to see how people are comparing this plot to others like “The City on the Edge of Forever”, “The Wrath of Kahn”, and “Doomsday Machine” (and even Star Wars!). I see the similarities and it actually makes it even better. It’s like an homage to what’s come before. Taking the best of Trek, putting it together, and creating a new and thrilling story is just pure genius. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

There are only so many plots, arcs, and storylines conceivable. Sooner or later, some things are going to sound the same as what we’ve heard before. Trek in particular has done many storylines to death, to the point where they’ve become cliched. Examples include “Planet that’s exactly like Earth in an earlier era”, “Distant outpost gone wrong”, “Ship is hijacked by supposedly-peaceful aliens”, “Carry important diplomats to conference”. There are many, many more.

Star Wars? I really don’t see any similarity except maybe its about a guy who finds his path in life and the whole planet destroyer thing, but as for the plot, nope, no parallels whatsoever. And if you consider it a rip off of “The City at the Edge of Forever”, you might as well consider all time travel plots in Star Trek a rip off of it (with the exception of a few). Personally, like I said earlier, if you really want to start comparing this to other Trek works then consider it an homage to previous work. If you want to compare this to Star Wars, then you’re f***in crazy.

Hmm. A deranged villain, maddened by some tragic event in his life, is hell-bent on destroying all in his path. This is just about the formula for every other Star Trek movie, beginning with Wrath of Khan and ending with Nemesis, not to mention a sizable percentage of the episodes. Don’t get me wrong, I love Trek and watch the shows over and over again. But part of what I was expecting from this movie was that it would be fresh and that it would be original, maybe bringing an interesting, complex story to the stage, instead of a formulaic one. Coming up with a convoluted reason for what makes the villain mad, or with an intricate series of occurrences leading to the tragic event in his life, or even with a supremely novel approach to the method by which he wishes to destroy all in his path, none of these qualifies as either fresh or original. Most movies these days tend to follow very preset guidelines and formulas (think about how many times you’ve seen someone holding their breath whilst someone they’re running away from starts jiggling the door handle to where they’re hiding). I guess I had hoped Abrams’s Trek might be able to transcend that, and the closer it gets the less I believe that that’s what I’ll get.

“It seems that he has taken the destruction of his home planet Romulus personally, and is particularly pissed off at a certain pointy eared half-Vulcan whom he was working with in the 24th century before he came back in time and started cutting a swath across the galaxy”

I guess they could be talking about another “pointy eared half Vulcan” that I am not aware of.

It is obvious to me that there aren’t many Romulan fans out there. At least not on this board.

Obviously I like the Federation most but the Klingons and Romulans are tied for my second favorite race and just a half-baked “goodbye Romulans and Romulan Star Empire” is not a way to get rid of one of the most important races in Star Trek.

Now I know some people will argue that the destruction of Romulus does not necessarily mean the destruction of the Romulan Star Empire. However, the facts are that most likely it would. Remember, it was Praxis that exploded in Star Trek VI, not Qo’noS. A BIG difference. Romulus is a major planet/player in the Star Trek universe. Could the Romulan Empire find another planet and make it it’s homeworld? Yes, but it’s not likely. It’s likely the Empire would collapse or result in a radically different Empire. I would hope that the Empire would continue to exist and thrive and that a new capital planet would be found quickly before the Empire falls into chaos.

In short, I’m really, really not happy that Romulus is destroyed when I don’t consider it necessary to make someone angry and seeking revenge. That said, if it’s only established that Nero’s world was destroyed and that his family was on it, and that planet is not named then it may not be Romulus. That’s probably a false hope, but there it is.

Despite all of these concerns, I will reserve judgment until I see the film and read both the adaptation and the “Countdown” comic book series.

By the way, this issue is much, much more important than the look of the new Enterprise!

#80: That’s a concern of mine as well. Star Trek, traditionally speaking, isn’t really about heroes versus villains; the “bad guys” are traditionally a lot more complex and redeemable than than. Star Trek II, rather innocently, elevated Khan to iconic screen villain status, and set a course for cliche that Star Trek movies have been struggling around ever since, with few pauses or diversions.

I remain hopeful that the cheesy cliches on parade in the trailer, on the adcopy for this book, etc., are all a smokescreen for something far smarter, something truly Star Trek.

I don’t remain big-time hopeful … not laying-any-huge-bets-on-it hopeful, but I do cling to a few shreds of hope :)

Because if not that, it needs to be Zoe Saldana in her underwear for 100 minutes. Maybe bending over a lot. If that’s the case, it can have all the cheesy villains it wants, as long as they don’t stand in the foreground.

106. Well, there is that cliche and the other big Trek cliche the scary, inexorable, seemingly unstoppable because they have some sort of edge alien race that is invading (beginning with the well-executed Doomsday Machine and moving V’ger, and coming furiously forth after the Borg, continuing with the Founders and the Jem’hadar, Species whatever whatever from Voyager. Did I miss any?). I wish Trek would go back to the exploration–strange new worlds, seeking out new life concept instead of these increasingly tiresome space war stories. I think there is still possible freshness in the exploration stories (as I’ve lamented many times). Unfortunately THAT freshness is more conducive to the small screen than a big budget blockbuster, which is why too much Trek has been villains and big, bad alien invaders. particularly on the big screen.

I”d like to see Trek as a our possible future not what looks cool. Or a film with just hot looking people, or everything looking like a current Apple Store. Yeah I want our future to be as marketable and shallow as this! *sarcasm*

I wouldn’t bet on a Doomsday Machine appearance. That would seem to require a little too much in-depth knowledge and it frankly feels a little hackneyed. Nero acting on his own with his own war machine is a lot more interesting than introducing a device from one episode most of the potential audience likely hasn’t seen. Plus, it keeps everything within the “sphere of knowledge” of the movie, so that the audience doesn’t have to come in that deeply informed.

Unless of course, Nero’s whole plan had been to stop the DM himself, and endangering the whole of reality in the process.

#28
I totally agree.
Amazing though how many people here seem more concerned about the fate of the Romulans than the fate of the people we knew and loved in TOS (who clearly are NOT the same people as the ones in this movie).

Did anyone of you thought about romulus is being destroyed in 24th century? And this might have been only the first target of nero and that the other one is placed within the past. Becaus if Nero had destroyed Romulus in the past he would have destroyed his own life. Am I right? Yea, I think so, because anything else sounds a bit illogical to me.

So I think this Movie is more like a “voyage home” or “First Contact” then a year of hell. Because I think Spock wants to prevent his own past to be blown away and he might even want to prevent the destruction of the whole romulan empire and Kirk in the time where Nero wants to kill him is his only chance to save the future and the life he knows and it’s even the beginning of the legendary voayge of the Enterprise.

#99 … VOODOO, I agree. Nero’s motives are the biggest mystery I’m hoping the movie clears up. Romulus was destroyed by natural disaster, not attack. And Spock tried to help, so …… who exactly is Nero angry at? Issue 2 of the Countdown comic actually hints that the Vulcans could have done more to help, but I hope this is adequately explained in the movie itself. Otherwise the villain’s motivation will seem contrived, like in Nemesis.

Hmm, 79,000 words is a bit short. A novella has an upper limit of around 40,000 words which averages at about 120 pages (print cultures is my area of PhD research). So, with the new ST novelisation, you’re looking at something about half the size of any of the ST: Destiny books. For my 2 cents, books of the movies tend to be a bit ho-hum though I remember the Star Trek: Search for Spock novelisation was a huge book, with the story from the film not beginning until about halfway. In retrospect, perhaps it would have been great if ST: Countdown had not been made into a comic but had formed the first half of the new ST book. Like everyone else, I admire Alan Dean Foster and recall vividly reading Aliens as a child, with all the extra scenes (before, of course, the extended director’s cut came out with the extra scenes inserted and dulled my wonder at Foster’s creativity for extending the story beyond what was shown in cinemas).

Has it been established that Nero’s (I hate that name for an alien) home planet is, indeed, Romulus, or is this merely conjecture?
Doesn’t he live on a mining planet or something? Oh well, the frakking Romulans need killing anyway. They’ve sucked ever since their heads got bumpy. The Klingons are good with bumpy heads, we should have left it at that. “Eww, eww, the bumpy-headed Klingons rock, let’s make the Romulans bumpy-headed too!” No, no, bad idea. Romulans were Vulcans a few thousand years ago. When was the last time you saw a little genetic drift cause bumpy-headedness? I’ll tell you when, never, that’s when. Oh crap, I’m a nerd.

i think nero will be someone with a valid but to us somewhat over the top mission.

His ship is called the Narada. Abrams dones not name things for shits and giggles.

‘Narada (Sanskrit: नारद, nārada) or Narada Muni is a divine sage from the Hindu tradition, who plays a prominent role in a number of the Puranic texts, especially in the Bhagavata Purana, and in the Ramayana. Narada is portrayed as a travelling monk with the ability to visit distant worlds or planets, lokas in Sanskrit. ‘

He also penned this.

‘The Nāradasmṛti is a part of the Dharmaśāstras, an Indian literary tradition that serves as a collection of legal maxims relating to the topic of dharma’.

Which while we could immediately say dharma is a lost reference/connection, the actual meaning of the word, ‘righteous duty’ or ‘virtuous path’ can also be applied to how nero sees his mission.

Destroy the major alpha quadrant powers in the past to creature a pure and noble unchallenged romulan empire in the future instead of the sham it has fallen into as a direct result of those foreign powers, which ultimately lead to its destruction.

I have been something of a die hard supporter of this movie and what the spoilers have revealed throughout, even if I was initially thrown off by the time travel aspect which I think became over-done in Star Trek, I’ve grown to live with it. There is only one thing, revealed in the trailers, which worries me- and though it might seem a small detail will probably grate a lot of other fans too- and that is this idea of Kirk apparently leaping from cadet to captain of the Enterprise in one fell swoop. Yes, Star Trek is about ships that go faster than light, aliens who travel through time and all sorts of other exotic science fiction so complaining about ‘accuracy’ and ‘realism’ can sound a bit wet, yet this little facet, this idea that our Kirk in TrekXI has no history in Starfleet but not only leapfrogs every other officer on the ship to take command in an emergency, but also keeps command of the vessel with no real experience whatsoever is mindboggling. I hope this has been misrepresented in trailers, I’m sure the non-fan won’t give a shit, but even the most casual of fans are going to find this one hard to swallow.

There’s a lot to see, but there are a few stand-out moments. I can’t really remember it all, but you can read a preview in one of the preceding articles by TrekMovie at the ComicCon event where it debuted.

I will say that the line where Pike says to Kirk something like: “Your father saved 400 lives in 12 minutes. I dare you to do better.” is, in my opinion, a really well written piece of dialogue.

The book allows readers the luxury of imagining the original cast playing the characters, of course.

I agree with the other posters here )and indeed this has been my theory all along): Nero is taking early-25th century tech back to the mid-23rd to create a super-Romulan Star Empire that could survive to rule supreme in the beta timeline and feasibly invade the alpha-timeline as well, hence Nimoy’s Spock’s interest in the parallel universe!

Nimoy’s Spock, Prometheus-like, is having to feed similar tech to the Federation and manipulate getting his old gang together in spite of the fact that they are living different lives now! Presumably Nimoy’s Spock arrives in the beta-timeline at the same time Nero does, meaning he’ll have been there for the best part of thirty years by the time the main story of the film kicks off!

One assumes that Nero is attacking Vulcan for whatever the mineral is that could have saved Romulus in the alpha timeline and no longer cares if he destroys Vulcan while he’s at it!

I’ve always been a fan of Alan Dean Foster’s work, both original and Star Trek. To find him writing in the Star Trek universe again is a huge treat. The longevity of his career speaks volumes…. pardon the pun…

Jon #132..”in Starfleet but not only leapfrogs every other officer on the ship to take command in an emergency, but also keeps command of the vessel with no real experience whatsoever is mindboggling. I hope this has been misrepresented in trailers”.

PERFECTLY STATED!!!!
I’m an “old school” fan!!!
I am willing to accept many of the changes that are being shoved down on throats. But Kirk instantly going from Cadet to Captain, is not acceptable to me, I also believeit would insult the intelligence of any hard core/casual fan!!! How will this be logically explained — is beyond me!

Nero isn’t a real villain… he’s just driven mad, due to the unability to save his entire planet and seeks revenge for it, although he managed to make the Narada into a planet destroying beast and travel through time…

He is more of a tragic figure, the once intelligent, nice guy with family…

#150 – We don’t know for sure that Kirk goes immediately from cadet to Captain. What we do know is that he was in the Academy. If reports about the plot are to be believed (see the 20-minute press preview coverage for details), Kirk is told it’s a four-year course, but he vows to complete it in three. One would have to assume that, by the time McCoy “sneaks” Kirk aboard, three years has passed. Kirk is probably a Lieutenant (Junior Grade) on his graduation, or perhaps he fast-tracked the command path and is already a Captain (Provisional), but his performance on the Kobayashi Maru test and his general attitude have kept him back from being assigned a command (see Ben Finney).

It’s also entirely possible that more than three years has passed since Kirk entered the Academy, and he’s already served planetside and been promoted a few times. In the Navy, he’d have to leap-frog five other ranks to attain the rank of captain (in USAF, it’d be 2nd Lt., 1st Lt., Major, Lt. Col., and Colonel – the equivalent of a Navy captain). But it’s not without modern-day precedent for someone to be promoted quickly – although it would still take about ten years or so for a butter-bar lieutenant to attain the rank of colonel. It’s not unheard-of for a 22-year-old Academy grad to become a colonel at 32, but it’s way tough.

So did I just answer my own question? I don’t think he went directly from cadet to Captain, but I do think he was promoted very, very quickly. I believe he assumes command in a crisis, but is not truly a captain in rank. And who’s to say that Pine’s Kirk is not somewhere around 32-34 years of age when he finally puts on the gold shirt?

Aaaargh – “suspension of disbelief.” Just click your ruby slippers together three times and say……

“in Starfleet but not only leapfrogs every other officer on the ship to take command in an emergency, but also keeps command of the vessel with no real experience whatsoever is mindboggling. I hope this has been misrepresented in trailers”

I hope so too. It would be impossible for me to believe. (It’s been hard enough to get used to the whole rebel thing and the shifting of everyone’s ages). Not even the other version of Kirk could pull this off IMO (the one whose Dad didn’t die thanks to Nero). Heck, I have a hard time believing he’d get to assume command even in an emergency; there are just too many other officers and crewmen in a ship that size.

If Romulus is destroyed in the Next Gen era, isn’t that then “new” canon? Nero going back to prevent it, is not at all a problem. If this is the creative way to bring back the characters, with all the potential of new adventures, I think it’s great. Fresh, new, modern, what else could be better?

Sam, Watchmen opened today, the next show is at 4:15… in a little more the 30 minutes. Maybe I’ll go…
If Pike dies on the Narada Nero killed both of Kirks fathers… the real one and the one that set him back on track. That is a bit much, storytellingwise.

Maybe they even keep Pike around so that he hands over command of the Enterprise for the five year mission in the next movie! it would be a bold thing to keep Pike physically intact as an Admiral overseeing Kirk’s mission from Starfleet!

Correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t the cadet Saavik “take the con” at least once during TWOK? Had the senior folks Kirk, Spock, Sulu, Uhura et al been killed or otherwise unavailable during the events of that film, wouldn’t Saavik have taken over temporarily? Maybe that is the kind of scenario that occurs in the new film when young Kirk takes the center seat.

Pike is gone to the Narada… Spock is made acting Captain, Kirk is first officer. Spock throws Kirk off the ship. Kirk returns from Delta Vega with Scotyy in tow, and the knowledge that he has to take over his ship. He provokes the already instable spock into a fight, and relieves him from his duty. As first officer he takes command, orders the ship into a U-Turn and kicks Neros butt…

I was re-reading the first prequel comic, and it was saying that if Spock and Nero get caught trying to stop this star from destroying the empire, Nero would be sent to a prison planet.

Judging by the trailer, he does end up on one. So my guess is what ever planet is destroyed, his wife is on it (duh) and he’s stuck in jail and can’t do anything about it. He loses everything but Spock seems to get a free pass.

So when he gets out, he goes back in time to destroy that star, Vulcan, and Earth. It may not be the most original but it works

Why there is such a gap between the Kelvin and Cadet Kirk sneaking onto the Enterprise? What was Nero doing for 20+ years? Earth and Vulcan must have been pretty safe – only emotional scars for Kirk and Spock that I know of…

Im not sure how “Canon” this is, but there are only about 40-ish Officers on the 400 (appx) crew, which includes Ensigns (A commissioned Rank) the rest being “Crewmen” like the Enlisted officers in our Military. It is perfectly conceivable that some disaster requires someone in command school (kirk) to take command when there are no other command trained officers available. With officers required for each departnmetn, there are probably only a few with any command training to take over the ship in an emergency. In TOS we only saw a few different people ever take command. IIRC it was Kirk, Spock, Scotty, and some various guest stars (who were insane or otherwise mind-f**Ked). In the books i think McCoy took command once and ditto for Uhura.

I think that this has been the case in ALL series, we only really saw only a handful of officers taking command, with only a few being competant at it. After all Wesley was an “Acting Ensign” and technically an ensign could take command.

#168 thorsten
Because of the Nero-attacking emergency serveral cadets are given duty on ships. The Enterprise is still new so several cadets are assigned to her. Kirk sneeks aboard, and Pike is still impressed by his abilities and decision making skills. Basically on a ship full of cadets, Cadet Kirk is eventually made Acting First Officer with Spock as Acting Captain, then relieves him of duty and becomes Acting Captain Kirk. He puts on the gold command uniform to promote confidence in his crew. Ultimately I think the Capt. Kirk we see is “Acting Captain” Kirk, but still a captain non-the-less.

#170
I think I read somewhere that during the Kelvin attack or sometime after some Klingon ships are also attacked. I think they capture Nero and send him to the prison ice-planet. Therefore we have an initial run of attacks from Nero and his ship, a time of “peace” while he’s in Klingon prison and when Nero escapes he’s even more mad than before.

During the American Civil War, many officers were promoted quickly, using the “brevet” rank. After wartime, they reverted to their ‘earned’ rank.

No problem here with a brevet Captain Kirk. If Nero has been going around burning the Federation so to speak, and fiddling with time, there could have been massive destruction among Federation vessels, and like during the Civil War, many officers are earning quick field promotions.

Kirk just turns out to be the U.S. Grant of this era: and in almost every parallel universe…

“The [Star Trek] novel manuscript came in at about 79,000 words. …
When comparing number of pages in a book, remember also that font size enters into the number of words per page.”

So…it’s 192 pages in the font size you’re reading right now. I’ve seen a lot of books lately buffed up to 250-350 pages with ridiculous chapter breaks, white pages, double spacing, etc to make them thick enough so that you’d notice them spine out.

This blurb also lays to rest recent speculation that the planet imploded in the trailer is Vulcan. Is it in fact Romulus? Also… if you’re reading this Kayla… I’d love to have a physicist weigh in on ‘splodin’ planets. I kinda think you’d get a lot of ejected mass, but mostly the thing would pull itself back together, albeit in a few dozen million years, because of gravity.

And a small matter… exactly who’s in charge of Romulus’ weapons programs. First we get Shinzon and the Scimitar with its nasty ray that doesn’t distinguish against Rommies… Now, we get a planet killer space drill. I think Halliburton has a hand in all this…

Help!
…im really not sure what it going on now… the story that the Star Trek Online people released does not mention the destruction of Romulus, but is clearly tied into the film somehow as the uniforms in the comics are the same as in the game. How can both things happen?… The game looks cannon but the “history” is completely different

A buzillion realities that look largely alike except change to fit the needs of a script? What exactly confuses you, Jeff?
Don’t you keep up with QM, the most roundly admired Hollywood theory in existence?

Sorry, I dont know about you, but I wouldnt pay $11 to go to a movie and watch the crew of the Enterprise galavant through space discovering new worlds. Just wouldnt make sense for a big screen movie. Yawn…

You might as well leave Star Trek dead. regular joe’s wouldnt go see it.. It would bomb.

I am probably shooting myself in the foot here, as most likely you are being sarcastic, but I believe that the collaboration was done to give a little visual continuity, i do think STONLINE should be constrained by canon, but they are operating farther in the future, and i do not believe have any knowledge of the plot of the movie.

However, if Romulus is destroyed in the “standard” Trek timeline, it does put a bit of a wrench in the works of the announced backstory. Anthony is interviewing the guy soon. It’s a reasonable question to ask.

#130–makes one think…perhaps theres a loophole here to allow once nero is killed (as all star trek villians are) for him to return in a sequel through a hidden part of his time travel mission; a backup, as it were… where he goes back in time to the 20th century and having disguised himself surgically, and using an Alias (lol), founds the Dharma Initiative and the Tagruato Corporation and then hands them off to Arvin Sloane, who administrates them both secretly until he’s killed at the end of Alias…lol…which would stitch Alias and Lost into Trek lore, opening up huge new Trek story potentials…

183. It would take creativity, but if done well it could work. It wouldn’t all have to be tricorders and scanning for lifeforms. You can still have action and adventure without falling into the tired old villain of the week and time travel tropes (Hell that was the theory behind TOS and TNG and they often made great exploration tales without resorting to star wars). Done poorly “boldly going? and “seeking new life” would blow, done right maybe not.

Nevertheless, the Hollywood blockbuster mentality is why I mentioned Trek is best on the small screen, because there it can tell a story without hewing to all the big movie cliches.

Basically, I think Trek probably needs to die for a couple decades. If this movie is good maybe that death will be forestalled. If it bombs, it is inevitable. I’d rather see it dormant for awhile than see it turn to sh** like the Star Wars prequels (all special effects with no soul and brain).

As a former U.S. Marine Officer with a degree in history, I can tell you that battlefield promotions do indeed occur, but they are generally task specific and almost always quite temporary.

There is also the suggestion that he is wearing actual Captain’s insignia on his sleeve. The thing about it is, commanding a vessel wouldn’t require an actual rank of Captain. Traditionally, anyone in command of a ship–permanently or not–would be addressed and treated as Captain (this is not the same as “having the conn”, but actually being the senior able command officer currently assigned to the ship).

Simply put—the “position” of Captain and the “rank” of Captain are two different things.

As far as “canon” is concerned, it is admittedly a gray area (since Starfleet is not a modern navy, but a future organization), but we have seen this issue addressed before in Star Trek (DS9, “Valiant”). Cadet Nog points out (somewhat) that it is improper for the personnel in command of USS Valiant to be wearing actual rank insignia reserved for commissioned officers, although he does not deny their duty to function in command positions, given the circumstances.

This would seem to indicate that Starfleet has maintained this Western Naval Tradition even into the 24th Century—it seems logical that it would have been honored in the 23rd Century as well.

Even during the events depicted in TWOK, Lt. Saavik is (quite correctly) addressed as “Captain” while in simulated command of the Enterprise during her command test. It isn’t that they are pretending her rank is different, but were she actually left in command of that or any ship, she would be addressed that way for the duration of that command (she is also correctly addressed as “Mister”, another Naval tradition where that term is applied to officers aboard ship, regardless of gender).

My hope is that Kirk is forced to assume command of the Enterprise during the crisis, but by the time we see him with actual Captain’s insignia, enough time has passed within the film’s story to make that more plausible.

#62-hmmm I don’t know..I think in “All Good Things” that there is a reference to a plague that breaks out on Romulus which is why the Pasteur can go in. That wouldn’t happen if Romulus didn’t exist anymore. I do agree that whether or not Romulus is destroyed, having the Klingons try to take over the empire would explain how Nero winds up on Rura Penthe.

I understand and accept field promotions or the taking of command in an emergency- it’ just the idea that once the emergency is over he is now a ranked captain- so long as they portray a passage of time between the field promotion and the actual achievement of the rank of captain, I suppose I can live with it.

192 Closettrekker: In TMP, when Admiral Kirk assumed command of the Enterprise, he was temporarily reduced in rank to Captain, and Captain Decker, who temporarily served as XO was reduced to Commander, and both of them were wearing the according rank braid on the ship.
This seems to indicate that in Starfleet there’s a close connection between rank and function, unlike in real military organizations: Commanding Officer has to be ranked Captain, XO has to be Commander or Lt. Commander.
We have also never seen any Starfleet ship having a regular commanding officer below the rank of Captain. Even the small science vessel USS Grissom had a Captain as Commanding Officer. Closettrekker, you sure know a lot more about this stuff than I do, but I gather in the US Navy it would be normal that smaller vessels are commanded by lower ranks, like Lt. Commander or even Lieutenant.

#196—“In TMP, when Admiral Kirk assumed command of the Enterprise, he was temporarily reduced in rank to Captain…”

The “rank” of Captain and the “position” of Captain are two very different things.

Nowhere in the dialogue is it suggested that he was temporarily reduced in rank (although Decker was). He should have been addressed as “Captain” while aboard ship after he assumed command. That is not necessarily a reduction in grade, but acknowledgement that he was in official command of that vessel.

If he was actually wearing Captain’s insignia, I must not have noticed. That would seem to indicate that Starfleet policies are not always quite in line with Western naval tradition on this matter (or somebody just goofed!).

“We have also never seen any Starfleet ship having a regular commanding officer below the rank of Captain.”

No—but we have seen Lt. Saavik (correctly—so long as Starfleet does things like Western navies) addressed as “Captain” during her KM test.

I suppose they could have been pretending she wasn’t a Lt., but that would be rather silly. Regardless of rank, she would be addressed as “Captain” while in command (again, not the same as simply “having the conn”)–training scenario or not.

“I gather in the US Navy it would be normal that smaller vessels are commanded by lower ranks, like Lt. Commander or even Lieutenant.”

Absolutely, and even the young JFK would have been called “Captain” (or more informally, “Skipper”) aboard the PT-109. Small Navy ships are not usually commanded by O-6’s (Captains). They are only addressed as such while on board. Their insignia and pay grade, however, are unaltered.

The point was that Starfleet has generally adopted what we know as the naval traditions of modern times. It makes sense to assume that would apply to the position vs. rank of “Captain”. However, if Kirk is wearing the wrong braids in TMP, that makes it somewhat more unclear.

It wouldn’t be the first instance of jettisoning one of those traditions. Apparently, the term “landing party” wasn’t good enough any more at some point either.

198: “However, if Kirk is wearing the wrong braids in TMP, that makes it somewhat more unclear.”

He positively wore Captain’s braid in TMP after he had assumed command. Either the braid in Starfleet indicates position rather than rank, or Adm. Kirk was actually reduced in rank. I had always inferred from Decker’s temporary grade reduction that the same thing applied to Kirk and Decker.
Anyway, Kirk’s Captain’s braid in STXI could be due to the same Starfleet regulations as his Captain’s braid in TMP.

These temporary rank reductions and promotions would certainly work much better in the Trek future than they would today, because there’s no money in the future, and therefore no pay grades involved (however this may work) :-)

#199—“…doesn’t Uhura mention something about logging his reduction in rank when he enters the Bridge?”

Actually, she only mentions that (paraphrasing) “Starfleet has just signaled your transfer of command”.

It is only Decker who has a “temporary reduction in rank”—according to the dialogue alone.

But if the costume designers were told to sew Captain’s insignia on Shatner’s outfit—so be it.

He could have easily and plausibly been addressed as “Captain” without losing his actual rank of Admiral. That just highlights an instance where Starfleet and modern navies are different. Just as plausible I suppose—although that particular difference doesn’t make much sense to me, particularly when Starfleet has apparently even maintained the underhandedly sexist tradition of sometimes addressing officers as “Mister”, regardless of their individual gender. Most consider that to be a mild protest against women serving aboard ships on the part of the US Navy, something I personally think would not be done in the 23rd Century.

Kirk was an Admiral in TMP. They never said his rank was reduced. I mean, seriously, why would you take a paycut for bailing out your planet in an emergency? ;)

Decker might well have been a Commander awaiting formal promotion when he took command of the Enterprise. Thus he might well have been addressed as Captain for his position, rather than rank. His ‘temporary reduction in rank’ might have reflected that he was no longer at the conn.

Also, when officers have changed their operational position in Trek, the doning of that rank symbol and uniform hasn’t been uncommon. Riker took on a Captain’s pips in The Best of Both Worlds (the galaxy’s going to hell and you go looking for shirt pins?!!!). Data changed his shirt colour in Chain of Command when Riker decided to become a petulant, unprofessional booby and was sacked!

In any case, when I first noticed this rank juggling in TMP I was kinda puzzled. Why wouldn’t Kirk keep his Admiral’s insignia, and more seriously, why can’t Decker remain in his Captain rank? If Kirk keeps his Admiral rank in the first place, then Decker would also not be the same rank as Kirk, should such a consideration be the reason why Decker needs to be reduced in rank.
After all, Adm. Kirk assumed command in TWOK, too, and Cpt. Spock remained Captain.

Closet–I originally put them on my ipods for cons. I thought it would be cool to sit and watch them during downtime or in the room. You know, get into the spirit of things. Then I discovered it was great to have them available for the inevitable trivia debates that always ensue.

Learned this from debating politics….always have a copy of the Constitution handy to trump the misinformed. ;)

The Romulans are the “noblest foes” (Star Trek: Magazine “Romulan Issue”). Destroyed Romulus and, most likely the Empire, just so you can have a villian on a revenge mission is NOT a noble way to get rid of one of the best alien races ever created.

That said, when Praxis exploded it was said that the Klingon Empire had “50 years of life left to it,” because the explosion poisoned Qo’noS’s ozone. The only reason the Klingon Empire survived is because they either found a way to fix the problem or evacuate (as was discussed by the Federation President at the Kitomer Conference). A sudden explosion of the homeworld would result in the collapse of the Empire. Not something I’m happy with as I love the Romulans. They could have found another way. It’s simply lazy and non-caring to do it the way they seem to have. And that’s a major problem.

Also, let’s all remember that the comics are NOT canon. Comics have never been canon and never will be. If Romulus isn’t mentioned as the home or Nero then the destruction of Romulus is far from certain.

That said, I would be able to accept it if the Romulan Empire survives and finds another homeworld. Some fans have speculated that the Qo’noS seen in the TNG-era is different from the Qo’noS seen in ENT and TOS because a poisoning of the ozone as a result of a stellar object’s explosion (Praxis) is not something that can be concevably fixed. Therefore, it is logical to conclude that the Klingons found a new homeworld and named it Qo’noS. It is possible the Romulans could do the same thing. It’s not likely as most of the Romulan leadership would be killed in the explosion and the Empire would likely fall into chaos, but it is possible. Let’s hope that the non-canon comics 3rd and 4th issue provide good answers. We will see.

I would also like to say that I’m extremely disappointed in the fans response, or should I say lack of response, to the destruction of Romulus. This is huge news and deserves more conversation and debate than “oh well, let’s bring on the movie!” It seems that in the eyes of many JJ Abrams can do no wrong just like some have similar attitudes regarding the current President. News flash: nobody’s perfect and you can disagree with someone every once in a while and still agree on other issues. A great man who I respect greatly once told me “you should never agree with someone 100% of the time. If you do then you’re not thinking for yourself.”

I know the franchise is in trouble but that’s not an excuse to do whatever you want and who cares. Earlier all of my concerns about this film had been laid to rest. They are back full force. I’ll see if those concerns are justified this May. I hope I’m worrying about nothing. I have a bad feeling that I’m not.

You say: “It seems that in the eyes of many JJ Abrams can do no wrong just like some have similar attitudes regarding the current President.”

“Earlier all of my concerns about this film had been laid to rest. They are back full force. I’ll see if those concerns are justified this May.”

Did you hear the story about Latreasa Goodman, who called 911 three times in Florida because she was not able to get Chicken McNuggets at McDonalds. The restaurant took her money, told her they were out of McNuggets, and refused to give her a refund, telling her it was against their policy.

“This is an emergency, If I would have known they didn’t have McNuggets, I wouldn’t have given my money, and now she wants to give me a McDouble, but I don’t want one, this is an emergency.”

Many have stated that Star Trek as a series became dated in the late 1990s because all episodes always concluded in the status quo. Tasha yar was killed because Denise Crosby was unhappy. BOBW II almost killed Picard as Patrick Stewart was renegotiating his contract. Nowhere was there any real fear of death or true dread for key characters.

Shows now kill off main characters in order to make good drama. Destroying Romulus, in my opinion, is a massive tragedy, and deserves, at face value, to be taken seriously as a plot device. It’s not an “anomaly” or some new ridge-headed species with particle weapons and warp drive. It’s a massive scale event for Trekkers akin to the death of Spock in TWOK, one the the film series’ shining moments.

It does mean that the planet Romulus will never again figure in any books or potential new series which take place in the “prime” timeline. It also means that there are a multitude of Romulans scattered throughout space who may feel it necessary to regroup and re-create their society, on Vulcan, or somewhere else. Why not?

#217 and #218—I’m not sure why you feel as though anyone should be offended at the apparent destruction of Romulus 8 years after Nemesis.

Given the time-travel aspect of this story, it doesn’t seem logical to presume that the fate of Romulus is sealed. And even if it were, I don’t think there are any post-TNG stories on the horizon anyway.

It also doesn’t mean that “one of the best alien races ever created” is gone. There are likely many planets in the RSE. Romulus may not even be its most heavily populated one.

And that wasn’t their “homeworld” to begin with. Technically, they were dissident Vulcans who at some point left and colonized Romulus, no?

Let’s be blunt about this. Since Romulus is destroyed in the old timeline, who really cares?

It’s still around in the new Star Trek timeline and, since it’s unlikely we’ll ever revisit the original timeline now, it’s kind of irrelevant that the old Romulus is gone, beyond being a launchpad for JJ’s Trek.

It’s more likely that Romulus will be saved in the new timeline (Nero will probably die stopping the supernova that will otherwise destroy Romulus, giving him a touch of nobility in death!)

The ironic ‘mirror universe’ element in the new Trek timeline is that Vulcan might be destroyed instead. TNG loses Romulus and neo-Trek loses Vulcan: fair exchange!

I think there are several book series out there which currently reside in the non-JJ universe. I do not read them. If any of them rely on Romulus existing in the 24th century, it’s a signpost that says “destroy Romulus here.”

End of the day, spin-off fiction is always subject to the whims of TV and film producers. Anyone who invests in it should know that. Would I love to have all the 1990s Doctor Who Adventures novels in official Doctor Who canon? Hell yes! But the new show has either remade or contradicted elements of them (the Time War being a convenient get-out clause in the new TV show!) and the TV show is always primary!

Maybe the books should just ignore Romulus’s fall and carry on regardless. I mean, the current cycle of Trek novels have been running for 20-odd years and there are inevitably plenty of contradictions already in them. Hell, some of them were written before even Star Trek IV came out IIRC! Also Kirk’s dead in some books and alive in others, for example.

Alternatively, the book series should perhaps take a collective breath, like in the gap between Astonishing X-Men v2 and v3 then get on with things post Romulus’s destruction.

I’m sure there are already licences being discussed for spin-off novels from the new film, anyway. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Countdown eventually get novelised as well, along with a number of other stories set in the new and old universe and in the period leading to the crossover!

219, so when you don’t have a decent argument you insult people? So much for respect of other people’s opinions. By the way, as someone going into law enforcement, I know what a real emergency is and what isn’t and that woman was charged with misuse of the 911 system, as she should have been. Further, you may notice that I did NOT insult you. I expect civilized debate, if that’s too much for you then I’d rather you not respond at all.

221, true, but when a capital is destroyed the society tends to be destroyed with it. Some real world examples: when the Visigoths sacked Rome in 410 AD the Roman Empire collapsed shortly thereafter; during the Second World War no target was more prized than Berlin and Tokyo as the destruction of those cities would result in the likely death of the national leaders and the collapse of Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire. Terrorists have long planned devastating attacks on Jerusalem and Washington, D.C. in hope of forcing the demise of Israel and the United States. The point: if you destroy a capital, you destroy a nation.

From Star Trek: it was felt that the Klingon Empire would collapse because Qo’noS’s atmosphere was poisoned. Qo’noS being the capital planet.

You are correct that the destruction of Romulus 8 years after Nemesis does not affect canon in any way as it is after all that has come before but I don’t think that it was necessary in order for the plot to work for this film. As far not understanding my displeasure, well, you’re obviously not a Romulan fan.

222, “who really cares?” Romulan fans.

“TNG loses Romulus and neo-Trek loses Vulcan: fair exchange” In a word, no. I don’t believe either planet needs to be destroyed in order for this film to work. Also, isn’t the mission in which the “red shirt” guy dies in which Kirk and Sulu go to the mining platform a mission to stop Nero from destroying Vulcan? If Vulcan is destroyed that would mean they failed.

223, they do but they also haven’t arrived 8 years after Nemesis. However, they could find a solution and save the Romulan Star Empire. If anyone can do it, the great writers at Simon & Shuster can. Hell they fixed the mess that was ENT: “These Are the Voyages…” they can fix this.

i don’t think Paramount is being too generous with the new film’s plot points. You are absolutely correct tha the novels always have to navigate the moving target of the Trek universe. They did it during the course of the whole “second life” of Trek since 1979.

Star Trek Online, to my point, now has to go back and re-evaluate its Romulan backstory or its universe. Cryptic has been ‘running the backstory by us’ for months now, and they have to change it’s heavy Romulan elements.

To your point, a ‘break’ is logical to see which way the wind is blowing.

Again, for those who missed it the first time, I’m not judging this film as a whole. I may be an excellent film. I am simply disappointed with this plot point. I will not judge the film as a whole until I see it.

NO….THAT WAS NOT ROMULUS DESTROYED IN COUNTDOWN #2…….BUT MAYBE IN COUNTDOWN #4.

Well Romulus is not yet destroyed, we are told in the first comic if the Hobus star goes nova then Romulus has a few weeks. Since the Hobus star went nova in countdown #2 and Nero’s wife is dead we know Romulus has a few weeks. Nero’s and his wife lived in the Hobus system and that was the planet destroyed where Nero’s wife was killed. Given this information we know that Romulus is not yet destroyed. BUT…that might happen in comic 4. Go back and read the comics carefully. So, is Nero driven mad over the death and destruction of his home, wife, and child, or does the shockwave reach Romulus and obliterate it, which is what sends Nero over the edge? Seems like along with Romulus many other worlds in the Romulan Empire are destroyed. What else has Nero left? Why not do the most extreme thing possible and change the past, again even if Nero dies in the process what he got to lose?

Imagine that….we know the movie has three different eras. More than likely it starts off post Nemesis and Romulus and most of the empire has been destroyed, what a mind f*ck that is going to be. Then Nero goes back to destroy the Kelvin and forward a bit to the big E. Poor star empire, trying to recover after Shinzon assassinated the senate..and now this.

Wow more and more I need to see this movie. 63 days..AHH YOUR KILLIN ME.

I will say however that the name “Nero” now makes a lot more sense. The real Nero from history was a Roman emperor who, some historians believe, burned most of Rome to the ground in order to build a massive new palace for himself. The saying “fiddling while Rome burns” comes from a supposed account in which someone saw Emperor Nero fiddling while Rome was burning.

Some other historians believe that Nero was simply incompetent and was unable to stop the calamity because of his incompetence. These historians believe that Nero was very concerned about the disaster and decided to build the mighty palace to both comfort himself and in an attempt to show the Roman people that Rome endures and rebuilds. However the people resented him because that money could have been spent to help the people instead of Nero.

Nero believe that he was God and therefore deserved a mighty palace to serve as a temple to his greatness. In the end, Nero had to commit suicide rather than be killed by his own bodyguards.

The Nero in this film may also have done nothing while a disaster hit Romulus and he blames others for his failings. Just a theory.

229, thanks for the info. The “few weeks” gives the Romulan government a chance to relocate and rebuild the Empire. Thanks for the glimmering hope.

“Seems like along with Romulus many other worlds in the Romulan Empire are destroyed”

I don’t like the sound of that though. That would force the Empire to become a third-rate empire and force them to beg for help. The Klingons would either conquer them, they would be forced to be protected by the Federation, or join the Federation and possibly reunify with Vulcan, or be protected in the shortterm by other powers and slowly rebuild. It indeed sounds like a massive natural disaster. One that would be difficult to recover from.

221 said “And that wasn’t their “homeworld” to begin with. Technically, they were dissident Vulcans who at some point left and colonized Romulus, no?”

Britain was the original home of our founding fathers, and my family, but it’s not anymore. America became the home of this nations’ founding fathers just like it did for my family. America is my home, Britain is not.

If someone were to suggest that American and Britain should embrace reunification, I would say, no, we will never reunify. Our founding fathers didn’t fight for independence just to give it back.

Therefore, I would imagine that Romulans would have similar attitudes considering their history (i.e. the long struggling exodus from Vulcan, etc.).

I just watched the new trailer of Watchmen (provided through a link in story about new interview with JJ Abrams and Chris Pine) and it is indeed the best trailer. As everyone on this board knows, I’m extremely concerned about the Romulus plot point but, as I said in the other forum, the movie itself is looking better and better. We’ll see what happens in May.

“However, if Romulus is destroyed in the “standard” Trek timeline, it does put a bit of a wrench in the works of the announced backstory. Anthony is interviewing the guy soon. It’s a reasonable question to ask.”

cool thanks AJ, nice to see its not only me who is a little confused by this issue…

Anthony, can we ask about the differences between STO “history” and comic “canon” when you interview someone from STO? (apparently you are doing this soon…)

#232—“Britain was the original home of our founding fathers, and my family, but it’s not anymore. America became the home of this nations’ founding fathers just like it did for my family. America is my home, Britain is not.

If someone were to suggest that American and Britain should embrace reunification, I would say, no, we will never reunify. Our founding fathers didn’t fight for independence just to give it back.

Therefore, I would imagine that Romulans would have similar attitudes considering their history (i.e. the long struggling exodus from Vulcan, etc.).”

I do not dispute that Romulans would be devastated at the loss of the planet they have called home for so long, but I still maintain that it would not be the end for their race.

If 24th Century Earth were destroyed, there would still be many (probably hundreds) planets with Human populations.

The larger point is that this happens within the Prime timeline 8 years after Nemesis. Not only is Romulus’ fate unsealed, but future stories are likely to take place in the altered timeline’s 23rd Century for the forseeable future.

238. Dean: ‘They kill off the Romulans in regular Trek canon? Did Abrams stop to think maybe some of us LIKED the Romulans?’

I’m sure lots of Romulans were out in space, well away from the supernova. Once a race is spacefaring, being attached to one planet is no longer an issue. One assumes the radiation from a supernova will wipe out large numbers of subjects of the Empire, not to mention solar systems, but Romulans will survive, amidst the massive political and refugee fallout of the disaster!

I just saw the new trailer and it was very entertaining. The interesting feeling I got from watching the montage of events was either “they” tried too hard in making this movie, or focused special and the promise of solid character development to lure everyone in.

I’m as excited as everyone, but the last several movies have really let me down as a fan and follower of the franchise.

I’ll be one of the first in line for this one and while I was sounding more like a “devlils advocate” earlier, I hope . . . I really hope that everyone got the movie “right” this time.

Okay, trying not to sound like an idiot here in case everybody else knows the answer to my question. I have not read Countdown, and I’m wondering if it says why Nero is going after Kirk if it’s Spock he hates. Also, the planet Romulus does not “explode into little bits”, it implodes on itself. And I hope that if the book starts out with Spock’s birth that it keeps to canon and has the whole ‘so human’ comment from Sarek, because that can really explain parts to new fans. I for one, though I will probably enjoy the new movie, am pretty sure I will not consider it canon, just a movieisized fanfic.
TWOK has its moral moments, too, as did Nemisis. I hope there will be some in this movie.
Also, I loved that part in the trailer where Spock hugs Uhura. This is going to be really great.

When Nero hangs any surviviving 23rd Century Christians on crosses attached to the walls of the Colliseum, then we know we have come full-circle. There are some similarities to work I put up about the history of Vulcan / Romulan relations that indeed did have a Roman connection, and looks like they may be using some of it, as they did ask me to send them all of the links. They didn’t ask me to take the links down – I took them down myself once I knew what they wanted to do with them. But the story sounds fascinating. Note the part that reads as follows: A machine of war bursts into existence in a place and time it was never meant to be. Yeah – that’s sweet … very sweet.

235, again with the insults. “A closed mind is an empty mind.” It’s sad really. You have my pity.

242, I agree that blowing up Romulus isn’t necessary. The good thing is that if Romulus is never mentioned in the film and the only references are “Nero’s homeworld,” or something to that effect then the destruction of Romulus is not canon as comic books have never been, and never will be, canon. That’s what I’m hoping for. The film itself looks exciting and it looks like its going to be an excellent film that just might rejuvenate the franchise. I certainly hope so.

243, that’s certainly a possibility.

I’m also thinking that if Romulus had “a few weeks” after the star went Nova then it’s possible that the government escaped. After all, the first people to leave in any evacuation is the government (in order to prevent national collapse and to provide a quick response to emergencies) and the last people to leave are first responders because they are trying to help the populace evacuate and to provide services to those who refuse to leave.

236, you are most likely correct that the race would not become extinct but it could be the end of their government and culture. You’re most likely correct that any future on-screen Star Trek stories would take place in the new timeline but the books and STO follow the regular timeline. Both would have to work on their story outlines to match up with the destruction of Romulus in 2387, which would be a major event in Star Trek history.

243. fred: ‘Probably whatever planet(s) is/are blown up by Nero are restored by Spock’s efforts before the end. So, we may see them go bye-bye but only temporarily.’

Please God! I hope not! Plot resets are the work of the terminally unimaginative! It ruined countless TNG era stories. Abrams strives for a realistic feel in his work. In real life, actions have consequences and you live with them. That’s kind of the point of the new film as well. The past can’t be undone!

And why get an audience to invest in a new Trek, then undo what they’ve just watched!

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